Trials
by Damon Asgard
Summary: Life is not always easy. There are Trials. Of pain, of sorrow, of remorse. But some of the things that are hardest in life are what really matter. Starts at the season finale of season 4, The End Part I. Will continue through season 5 and beyond.


Jump City, California. A beautiful metropolis found on the coast, it has its fair share of crime, hence the necessary resident superheroes, the Teen Titans. On most days, the city would be alive with the sounds of activity and bustle. But this afternoon, under a solar eclipse, the city was silent. Almost a ghost town, there wasn't a single person in sight. The air was thick and heavy, like the world itself knew that something was amiss. At that second, at that moment, underneath an ancient library from the city's founding, a small procession of creatures outside this world travelled through its depths.

At the center of this convoy, a young woman sixteen years of age trudged beside them. She was walking through a hallway, surrounded by her father's servants, demons of living flame. Draped in a long, dark blue cloak and hood, only her brilliant violet eyes and lower face could be seen, all else hidden in shadow. Her march was steady, stance strong, and face as expressionless as a wall. Only her mind belied her inner turmoil. To be expected, as it was not every day in a person's life to be led as though a lamb to slaughter. At this hall's end, she would meet hers. She was the gem, the harbinger of the end. Her name was Raven, and she was destined from birth to bring about the end of the world.

Her father, Trigon, sought dominion over this realm, and Raven was the key needed to bring him here. Her whole life, she had run from this, hoping that perhaps destiny might be rewritten. She became a hero, joined the Teen Titans, and protected the innocent. But in the end, it was pointless. All Raven's efforts chalked up to a minor redemption, at best, nothing was changed.

_Destiny. Every being in this universe has one. A path they must follow, whether they will it or not. Some are fortunate, others...not so much. My fate is to bring about the end of the world, and at this moment, I wish I was anyone else in the world right now. _

Raven tried to hide this fate from the other Titans, even when the first signs appeared, but eventually, she had no choice. They had to know. Being the cynic, she had expected them to reject her, but all they wanted was to find a way to stop it. For many years, she had felt the same, but all such hopes inevitably were futile. This was a destiny inescapable. When the time came, when today started, Raven tried, once again, to hide the truth from the Titans. And that worked just as well as last time, but even so, they found ways to surprise her. Ever since they heard the truth from her, the Titans had prepared for this day, building defenses and even a room to protect her using state of the art technology and magic from her books.

_It was no use. Their efforts were in vain, Trigon will come, and I'll be the one to bring him here. The only consolation is that I won't live long enough after this to see it._

The hallway opened up into a large chamber, whose only defining feature was the large, clawed hand that sprouted from the of the room, the altarpiece. This was the place. The end would begin here. Raven looked up, staring through the opening in the roof into the darkened sky and eclipsed sun. The hour was at hand.

She looked away, her stomach twisting in knots. No part of her wanted to do this, but running away would mean only more harm to her friends. And she wouldn't let that happen. Raven lifted and opened her right hand, revealing a simple, albeit meaningful, penny. Beast Boy had found it before this all began, and gave it to her soon after it did.

_"For luck," he said. No amount of luck could have changed my fate, Beast Boy. _Despite herself, however, the gift somehow comforted her. While Raven was loath to admit, she cared for Beast Boy, she always had. _Even if his jokes are stupid. _She mentally noted.

Her hand clasped the penny once more. Pulling herself away from such thoughts, she returned to the task at hand. The End of the World. "It is time. The prophecy shall be fulfilled." For once, Raven found herself surprised to note her voice's controlled and even tone. In fact, Raven was surprised to find the emotional torrent she felt only moments ago abate at these words, left only with a level of calm she most often found through meditation.

How odd that death's grasp would give her calm when all else failed.

Taking a step forward, Raven strode towards the center of the room, ready to end it all...Then the familiar sound of a sonic cannon burst into the room behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know it was them, her friends and comrades, making one last ditch effort to save her. Her calm was shattered as regret and worry for her friends filled her once more.

"Raven!" It was Robin's voice, unsurprising, as he had taken the most initiative in this mission of theirs to "rescue" her. Yet, she felt disappointed somehow. Strange.

With a wave of her hand, Raven banished the fire demons from the chamber. They were not gone, but there was no reason to return, they knew she would go through with it. Nothing could change that. Turning her attention to her friends, Raven was unceremoniously struck by the strong emotions emanating from them. Robin was burning with determination intermingled with desperation, both Cyborg and Starfire were the usual cocktail of fear, concern and anxiety that would be expected of anyone in a scenario such as this, and for Beast Boy there was...nothing. No emotion, no aura, nothing.

In any person this was considered a rarity, but in him only more so. Normally, the average person felt around two or three strong emotions at once, while Beast Boy, on the other hand, often felt five or more strong emotions on any occasion. He was never just happy, he was also excited, confident, determined and mischievous, as well as any other emotions that might spring up, given the opportunity. Making his apparent lack all the more surprising. Pushing the emotions of the others out of her head, Raven instead focused on Beast Boy, studying him as she pulled down her hood. His face was expressionless, his body movements mechanical. Like he was only there in body, and not in mind. She had never seen him like this.

* * *

Beast Boy was...in shock. He felt nothing, his heart empty of all emotion. Something was wrong, he knew he should be feeling something, anything, from all this, but ever since he woke up from that spell Raven used on them, he was a blank slate.

He had followed his friends in their pursuit of Raven, but found himself only going through the motions, lacking the resolve of his teammates. In his mind, she was already gone. She had left them, of her own free will, to fulfill her destiny and end the world.

Events transpired before him, observed without more than a passing interest from the young changeling. He noticed that, for a second after Raven halted the attack of the fire demons and pulled back her hood, she seemed to be studying him. But that moment passed too quickly to be certain.

He didn't know why, but he found all of this surprisingly similar. There was only one other time he had ever felt like this, and that was when his parents had drowned. They had told him to leave, to fly away. He tried disobeying, but eventually did as they asked. That was the last time he ever saw them, and after realizing what happened to them, something broke inside him. Beast Boy was nine years old and alone in this world. Yet, he felt no pain at such a prospect nor sorrow for their passing. It was like his heart's only defense for protecting itself was to empty of all content, good and bad. Months passed before he could finally overcome this emptiness, and there are few greater outpours of despair than that of a child's parents' passing, even when delayed.

Amidst Beast Boy's wandering mind, he noted briefly that Robin was still trying to convince Raven not to go through with it, that it was her choice to follow her "destiny" or not. But, as Beast Boy expected, she appeared resolute, all hope of escaping this gone. If he could feel at this moment, he might have felt pity for his friend's unwavering determination to save her. _Doesn't he get it? She's not going to change her mind, she's abandoning us, and that's that. This is only delaying it! Why do you have to make this so hard for me?!_

The last thought stirred his heart for a moment, anger and surprise rising to the surface. But they were quickly silenced, leaving behind a blank slate once more. _That...was weird. _He noted dumbly before his mind promptly returned to previous ponderings.

Beast Boy never understood why his parents made him leave. He had shape-shifting powers, he could change into any living creature, he could have saved them. But they didn't even give him a chance to try, making the choice for him and dying because of it. It wasn't until years later, after joining the Doom Patrol, that Beast Boy realized that his parents had sacrificed themselves for him. They knew if he had stayed, he would have tried to save them, and his inexperience with his powers might have killed him in the process. While it did nothing to abate his remorse and guilt over letting them die, he finally understood why they made him leave. They loved him so much, that they pushed him away to save him.

"And as my friends, you have to let me go." Raven said as she summoned a magical field between herself and fellow Titans, blocking any attempts they might make to stop her.

Her words filled his ears, bringing his attention back to matters at hand. Those words were surprisingly familiar, then a voice filled his ears, echoing her words. It was his father's voice, "You have to let us go, Garfield."

A resounding clang reverberated in Beast Boy's mind as the last mental connection bridging two thoughts fell into place. _Her words...her voice...Raven's doing the same thing! _He didn't know how Raven was going to do it, but she was pushing them away to save them, and he was an idiot for not understanding sooner.

His heart's defenses fell, all his emotions rising to the surface, burning in his chest. Beast Boy was overwhelmed, all his pain, all his torment at the thought of losing Raven filled him. Last time he was in this situation, Beast Boy had failed, his parents' deaths proof of that. _But this isn't like back then, I can still change this, I can still save her!_

Transforming into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Beast Boy charged and slammed against the dark magical energies holding them back. It didn't break. Raven marched forward, not looking back. His friends, fought against the barrier, too, striking it with all they had left.

She had nearly reached the top of the stairs, Beast Boy's efforts increased tenfold, slamming harder and harder against the dark magic. His friends, however, were losing hope, their efforts lessening, their strength waning. Now only he and Robin continued the onslaught, neither willing to give in just yet. But Robin was tiring fast, his human stamina, while great, was finite and today's battles had already drained much of it. Soon Robin, breath ragged and sweat dripping from his brow, was forced to stop. Now, only Beast Boy's efforts remained, and it was growing increasingly obvious that such efforts were pointless, the barrier was simply too strong.

Beast Boy stopped his futile assault upon the barrier, returning to his human self. _I can't stop her, not like this. Whatever power she used on this thing is too strong for all of us combined, let alone just me. But there has to be some way to save her, it's not too late! I'm not giving Raven up without a fight! _ He stood at the edge of the barrier, slamming his fists against it with all his remaining strength, and then called out her name.

"Raven!"

* * *

A voice called her name. She stopped, only moments from her destination. It was quickly recognizable, having heard that same voice berate her endlessly every day for over two years with jokes. _Beast Boy?_ She turned, and was surprised by what she saw. The boy who, only moments ago was as an emotional post, now stood at her barrier exactly the opposite. Beast Boy was borderline drowning in his emotions, desperation, heartbreak, anger, sorrow. She shifted her gaze, violet meeting emerald. His eyes were sorrowful and pleading, no, begging her not to do this, but underneath that, there seemed to be understanding. He knew why she was doing this. That it was going to happen, whether she went willingly or not, but that at least, this way, her friends would not suffer. Yet, despite all that, he still didn't want her to go through with it.

Raven wanted nothing more than to turn away, but his pleading eyes held her gaze. The other Titans only stared at him, surprise mixed into their previous blend of emotions. The feeling was mutual, Raven never expected Beast Boy, of all people, to be the last one fighting for her. Especially after what she had sensed from him only moments ago.

"Raven...please."

His voice was softer this time, almost a whisper. Raven was surprised to admit she wished he had cracked a joke, at least then everything would still be normal. But then she could have brushed it off as Beast Boy being Beast Boy, instead, she lingered. For a moment, only a moment, she thought about walking away from all this, about giving it one more fighting chance. But such thoughts were as fairy tales, hopeless dreams that had no hope of coming true.

Unable to face him or his emotions any longer, she turned away. "I'm sorry, Beast Boy," Raven whispered, taking the last few steps to the top of the stairs.

Taking a meditative stance, she embraced her destiny, and chanted the words that would destroy this world. Her voice was low, solemn. "The gem was born of evil's fire, the gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim, he comes to sire, the end of all things mortal."

Runic markings on her skin and clothing fell away from her, then began to circle around, quickly picking up speed. A white light came from her center, engulfing her body as it expands. As it reached her hands, she finally lets go of her last physical attachment to this world, the penny. As it fell to the ground, the sphere of light continued to expand, oblivion came to take her.

And she was surprised to find that her last thoughts were on that stupid green idiot. Whether it be trying to make her laugh or the end of the world, Beast Boy never took no for an answer. It never ceased to frustrate her, that he just wouldn't leave her alone, wouldn't give up on her as a hopeless case. Nonetheless, it didn't matter anymore, this was the end.

Darkness began closing in on the edges of her mind. She embraced it, knowing that, even though she brought this world's end, that there might be hope, should her spell hold on her friends. Her thoughts soon returned to Beast Boy, finding herself guilty of failing him. No matter her retort or reaction to his antics, he had never turned away from her. _I'm sorry, Beast Boy, I guess I turned out to be a hopeless case, after all. _

Oblivion came, her existence ended, she was no longer needed.

* * *

A/N: Hi peoples, this is my second fanfic, but first Teen Titans one. As you already guessed I'm starting this fanfic up at The End, the season finale of season 4, a weird place to start, I know, but bear with me here. I've set up my own timeline for this that is a bit different from original show. Most of the changes before season 4 will be stating in these first chapters, which I have decided to cut up into three parts, one for each episode.

Afterwards, I'll be sticking to the overall plot of season 5, with some things I wish they had either added or changed in the original series. Also, while this is a BBxRae story, the romance will be more of an overarching part of the story rather than the main storyline. I want this story to feel like the Teen Titans show we all know and love(old one, of course) while expanding on the story and the best couple in the story(my opinion, please no hate). And...that's pretty much it for now. I also have no idea how long this is going to turn out. I will say I've already started working on ideas for after season 5, so I hope to at least get that far. Anywho, hope you enjoyed, and that it wasn't overly cliche or lame. I'll be bouncing back and forth writing this fanfic and my other one, so expect one every other week at least, unless inspiration kicks in.

So be expecting Setting the Stage Part II in the coming weeks!


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